Social Influence

Question 1

What is conformity?

Answer 1

According to Aronson, a change in a persons behaviour or opinions as a result of real or imagined pressure.

Question 2

Outline Asch’s Baseline Procedure

Answer 2

It was carried out in 1951.
Aim - the extent to which people conform in an unambiguous situation.
Participants - 123 American males who were tested in groups of 6-8 with only one real participant per group who was seated last or next to last and the rest being confederates.

Question 3

What did Asch find in his baseline study?

Answer 3

Participants conformed to the wrong answer 36.8% of the time (1/3)
However, 25% never conformed.

Question 4

What were the variables investigated by Asch in 1955?

Answer 4

Group Size
Unanimity
Task Difficulty

Question 5

What was the aim of investigating these variables?

Answer 5

To see if other factors could lead to an increase or decrease in conformity.

Question 6

What was the aim of testing group size and how did they change the group size?

Answer 6

The aim was to see if the size of the group has an effect on conformity.
The number of confederates in this variation ranged from 1-15.